Casting apparatus



Jan. '15 1924.

W. W. M CARTER CASTING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2'7. 192] 2 Sheets-Sheet l W. W, 1". CARTEK, gwuenl'oz Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

UNITED ST WILLIAM W. MCCARTER, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

CASTING APPARATUS.

Application filed December 27, 1921. Serial No. 525,057.

To all whom it may mm.-

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM W. Mo- CARTER, a citizen of the United States, re siding at Houston, Harris County, Texas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Casting Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable other skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to casting devices to be used in'foundry operations. It contemplates the use of a permanent mold wherein the smaller types of castings may be formed.

An object of my invention is to provide a casting apparatus using permanent molds which may be easily andquickly manipulated.

Another object is to so construct such a device that the mold form maybe quickly removable from the jaws and replaceable when worn.

Another object is to provide efiiciently for expansion of the parts due to heating when in operation.

Another object is to provide means for quickly locking the molds in operative po sition, such locking means being adapted for quick release.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent to one skilled in the art, after reading the more detailed description which follows:

Referring to the drawing herewith, wherein like numerals of reference are applied to like parts throughout the several views, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are rear elevation, longitudinal section, and front elevationrespectively, of another embodiment of the said invention. Fig. 6 is a section on theline 66 of Fig. 1. Figs. 7 and 8 are side elevation and plan views respectively of an operating lever which may be used in connection with my invention.

This invention is intended to be an improvementv on my prior'Patent No. 1,072,480, granted September 9th, 1913. In making castings, by. the use of permanent molds I have found that some provision must be made for the expansion of the parts, and that further provision should be made to provide extra mold faces for the device in order to make it unnecessary to replace the movable jaws whenever a defect arises in the mold itself.

In remedying these defects I have pro vided sliding jaws constructed in such a manner as to make the mold forms removable. In the drawings I have shown my casting device as mounted upon a supporting frame comprising front and rear standards 1 and 2 respectively and side supports 3 and 4;. These side supports extend longitudinally of the device and provide on their upper faces a sliding trackway upon which the jaws rest. work thus provided the standards 2 are extended upwardly above the side supports 3 for a short distance as shown at 4:. Between these side supports at the rear end I place a cross bar 5 formed with laterally projecting flanges 6 for attachment to the side supports 2. Centrally of this cross support 1 form a rearwardly extending housing or cylinder 7. This cylinder has a central recess 8 therein as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Within said recess is housed a spiral spring 11. This spring bears at its rearward end upon a disk or plunger 9 which is adjustable by means'of a set screw 10 projecting through the rear wall of the ousing and secured at its forward end centrally of the plunger 8. The sprmg 11 bears at its forward end against the rear face of a stationary jaw 12. r

The jaw 12, while termed the stationary jaw, is adapted to be movable for a slight distance toward and away .from the spring 11. The jaw comprises a rectangular plate with its forward face recessed slightly as shown at 13 to receive a removable mold face 14. The jaw 12 has secured to each side thereof laterally projecting lugs or brackets 15 and 16. The lug 15 upon one side of the jaw is provided toward its rear ward end with a downward projection 17, adapted to fit loosely within a recess 18 in the side support 3. The flange 16 uponthe opposite side is secured within the support t by means of a bolt 19. This bolt is secured firmly within the support 4 but fits loosely within an opening in the lug 16, so that there will be a slight play laterally of the jaw to accommodate a small movement due to expansion during the casting operation.

The'removable mold face 14: is fitted within the recess 13 of the jaw 12. 'It is of shorter width than the jaw within which it At the rear end of the frame fits and may be held in place in the side jaw by laterally extending set screws 20 or by any other well-known means. I am also using in connection with the set screws 20 rearwardly extending bolts 27 to assist in more securely holding the jaw in exact position. The mold face has also laterally extending lugs 21 which rest upon the for wardly extending portion of the flanges 15 of the jaw. These lugs form a further support for the mold face thus assisting in maintaining the molds in precise alignment. The forward face of the mold is formed by casting recesses 22 which are shaped to form the type of casting desired. I have shown a mold adapted to cast sash weights. There is at the upper ends of the mold recess an outwardly inclined pouring opening 23.

The mold face 24, cooperating with the face 23 to form the mold cavity for casting is set'exactly opposite the mold 14, so as to register therewith. This mold face is formed almost identically with the one first described, except that the pouring opening is formed by a small semi-circular groove 25 at the upper end. This mold face 'is also provided with laterally extending flanges 21. These flanges or brackets rest upon the forward end of lugs 15 formed upon the forward jaw 25.

To accomodate free movement of the movable jaw 25- to and from the stationary j aw, I provide upon one of the side supports or tracks 3, a plurality of antifriction rollers 26. These rollers are set in recesses in the upper face of the supporting members so that the rollers will project a slight distance above the surface of the support for contact with the lower face of the lug 15. On the opposite supporting member 4 I form, in place of the rollers 26, a grooved track 44; adapted to cooperate with a downward pro jection upon the lug 15 on that side of the jaw 25'. This projection 28 is most clearly shown in Fig. 6. As will be obvious, this fitting of the projection 28 in the groove M will force the jaw 25 to slide in a straight line and prevent lateral movement while the jaw is being adjusted to proper position.

The movable jaw 25 is operated by means of a toggle lever secured to the forward end of the frame work. This lever comprises a bar 29 secured at its lower end to a support 30 on the frame work, and extending in a straight line for a short distance to a pivotal point 31. From this point it extends at an obtuse angle upwardly to a point spaced somewhat from the end where it is again bent forwardly. At the pivotal point 31 a yoke is connected. This yoke comprises two laterally extending bars 32 pivoted at 31 and secured pivotally at the other ends to lugs 33 upon the forward face of the movable jaw '25,

This arrangement is shown most clearly in Fig. l. In'manipulating this sort of lever the upper end of the bar 29 is grasped and pulled forward toward the operator to release the mold. The rollers 26 make this movement a smooth and even one, and the track as holds the jaw to movement in a straight line. The jaw, 25, and the mold member 24c are pulled slightly backwardly upon the rollers 26, and it will be obvious that, when they are entirely free from the cooperating mold, they may be swung or tipped backwardly so as .to throw the mold face upward, thus exposin the casting for removal from the form. Then it is desired to close these molds, the reverse operation will take place and the toggle is so arranged that when the mold faces are tightly pressed together that the toggle will be in a locked position as shown in Fig. 2, and thus hold them securely together.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I have illustrated .a diff ferent embodiment of my toggle lever. In this form I contemplate thatthelever when closed, may lie in a position practically horizontal, and I have formed the body of the toggle of two plates '34 and 35. The plate 3% is provided with an opening 36' through the end thereofto receive a pivot bolt upon which it may swing. It has also a vertical, somewhat rectangular, opening 37 to receive a removable hand leverjor bar.

The forward end of the plate 34: is hinged to the rearward end of the plate and in so hinging the two members together I have fitted the parts in such way :that they will act as does an ordinary type of hinge,all owing the parts to swing freely in one direction but allowing a movement in the reverse direction only until the parts are in alignment. In doing this I provide a shoulder 38 on the forward end of the plate 34: that is adapted to contact, when the parts arein alignment, with a similar shoulder of the plate 35. This construction is clearly shown in Fig. 7 and will be readily understood. The plate 35 is forked at its other end and provided with pivotal openings 39 by means of which it may be attached to the face oft-he j aw, 25. In the use of this form ortoggle, it will be obvious that the jaw 25 will be locked in position when the lever is closed,as shown in the drawing. When it is desiredto open the form and slide the jaw 25 forwardly, a bar or lever will beinserted within the opening 37 and this lever pulled toward the operator. thus throwing the jointe'd end of the plate 3% upwardly, breaking the toggle and drawing the jaw toward the operator. This form or toggle is'o-f advantage when-a number of these casting-devices are arranged side by side. The -operator may then proceed from, onemachine to another inserting his operating bar within the openings37, thus operating the apparatus and thus proceedin Ow the line operating them successive y.

While I have shown the mold faces 14 and 24 as removable from the sliding and stationary jaws, they may of course be formed integral, as shown in my prior Patent No. 1,072,480. In Figs. 8, 4 and 5 I have illustrated the mold faces as formed integral with the jaw and have illustrated the said jaw 40 as provided with outwardly extending cooling vanes 41. This provision will allow the more rapid cooling of the form and will make it possible to operate the forms more rapidly. In this type of mold I have also formed the contacting faces of the molds of small area. Thus, as shown in Fig. 5, I have extended the margin of the mold forms 22 forwardly a slight distance as shown at 42 in Fig. 4, and have extended this marginal face upwardly around the mold form to the edge of the pouring opening as shown at 43 in Fig. 5. This provision makes it necessary to accurately machine the contacting faces only along these marginal projections and when the two jaws are forced together the marginal faces 42 only will come in contact, and this contact may be made with such accuracy that none of the metal will escape.

The mold forms shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 provided with cooling vanes may be used alone as shown or may be formed for attacn ment within the slidable jaws as are the molds 14, and 24, and in forming the molds with this cooling provision I do not wish to be confined to the use thereof in a mold integral with the jaw itself.

In the operation of my improved casting machine the two jaws will be forced toward each other into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and locked in close contact by means of the toggle lever, as previously described. The molten metal will then be poured through the pouring opening into the two molds 22 and the metal will be allowed to cool to a certain degree. IVhile the metal is still of red heat however, the form will be thrown quickly open by means of the toggle lever described and the casting thus released and allowed to cool in the atmosphere. Before the metal is poured within the mold the forms will be comparatively cold, but when the metal has been poured therein the forms will naturally receive a large portion of the heat from the molten metal and will be thus expanded. This expansion will be taken up in my device by the spring, 11. A slight movement of the stationary jaw will be allowed by the loose fit of the lug 17 Within the support 18 and also by the loose fit of the bolt 19 within the opening in the bracket 16. The slidable jaw will be held in fixed position by the locking of the toggle.

When the mold faces become worn from use they may be removed from the jaws and replaced by others in an obvious manner. It will thus be possible to maintain the casting machines in repair at all times without great expense.

Having thus described my invention, the 1 further advantages of which will be apparent to one skilled in the art, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a casting apparatus, the combination of a mold having a slight play forwardly and backwardly, means to hold said mold resiliently forward, a slideable mold jaw, a guide track having a groove therein, a projection on said jaw slideable in said groove, and means to move said slideable jaw and to lock the same in operative position.

2. In a casting apparatus, two cooperating jaws having removable mold forms thereon, lateral supporting lugs on said jaws, lateral projections on said mold forms resting on said lugs, supporting tracks for said lugs and means on said lugs and track to maintain said jaws in proper alignment.

3. In a casting apparatus the combination of a supporting track, ajaw having a projection fitting within a recess in said track, a spring to hold said jaw resiliently forward, a slideable jaw, mold faces on said jaws adapted to register with each other, means to guide said slideable jaw and maintain it in alignment and means to move said slideable jaw.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature, this the 24 day of December, A. D. 1921.

. WILLIAM W. MCGARTER. 

